5G era on the horizon
China joins top ranks as development of new-generation network speeds up around the world
Gone are the days when Chinese people wait in long lines at train stations for tickets during major national holidays like Chinese New Year – now they buy tickets on smartphone applications with payments authorized by a simple scan of a fingerprint.
Also, bicycles have become popular again in China thanks to the new shared bike initiative. Parked at designated areas on sidewalks, the bikes can be easily unlocked by scanning a QR code.
Such innovations are made possible thanks to the 4th Generation (4G) mobile network, which has greatly increased internet speed and given birth to what is known as the internetbased “sharing economy.”
But 4G may soon be a thing of the past, as tech companies around the world compete to launch technological as well as market trials for devices compatible to the 5th Generation (5G) network, whose mass adoption is expected to be in 2020 at the latest.
Given the significantly greater speed of up to 10 gigabits per second that 5G would offer, the next-generation ultra-fast network will see our way of life change even more than in the 4G era, in virtually every aspect.
China joins top players
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Geneva-based UN affiliate that governs issues concerning information and communication technologies, has set 2020 as the target year for completing the international standardization of 5G technologies so as to pave the way for its mass adoption, according to a road map the ITU refers to as “IMT-2020.”
However, there are signs that the ITU’s timeframe may be too conservative, taking into consideration the boldness shown by international tech giants as they vie for dominance in the 5G industry at this early stage.
In a market environment already featuring fierce competition, Chinese telecommunications companies are not only active participants, but also rising stars among the top ranks.
For example, ZTE unveiled the prototype of its 5G-compatible phone at this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) held between February 26 and March 1 in Barcelona, Spain.
Headquartered in Shenzhen, South China’s Guangdong Province, the company said it is working on commercializing a range of 5G products by the end of this year.
Also, at the just-concluded MWC, Chinese tech giant Huawei, now a world-leading telecommunications equipment manufacturer, presented what it claimed to be the world’s first commercial chipset that meets the standards of 5G networks.
Having showcased in total 20 new products, the company reaped eight “Global Mobile Awards” at the international gathering, all of them honoring its achievements in 5G technologies.
“Huawei began its research and development [R&D] on 5G in 2009, and in 2018, we have 30 pre-commercial trials across Asia, Europe and the Americas,” said Joe Kelly, vice president of Huawei’s international media affairs.
He added that the company will implement some of its first commercial contracts for 5G products this year.
“We often talk about 5G being a 2020 technology, but the standards are ready, our technology is ready, and the demand from the telecoms companies is real,” Kelly said, adding that 5G is an “industrial-wide global initiative” in which Huawei is “probably at the forefront.”
China is extensively involved in the preparation currently underway for the eventual market rollout of 5G technologies worldwide. The country’s participation covers aspects ranging from international standard-setting to system development and trials as well as the nurturing of a global ecosystem for the industry.
According to a blueprint by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the nationwide commercialization of 5G technologies will be realized by 2020, following which a series of major innovations are believed to subsequently emerge.
“We see indeed a lot of advantages for China to take on a leading role in building and promoting 5G,” said Zhang Zhiwei, Swedish telecommunications multinational Ericsson’s head of marketing in Northeast Asia.
Zhang said that those advantages include the strong driving force of the Chinese government, the sense of urgency and real needs of Chinese industries to upgrade and transform, the efficiency of execution by Chinese enterprises, and the scale and vibrant energy of the Chinese economy.
Global competition heats up
On the global scale, the US and Asia are widely regarded as two main locomotives driving forward R&D on 5G, while European operators such as Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia admitted in 2017 that Europe had fallen behind.
Qualcomm, a US multinational semiconductor and telecommunications equipment company, presented its 5G-based autopilot conceptional car at the MWC 2018, building on its earlier version of an automotive platform that supports infotainment, navigation, Wi-Fi and 4G network connection, according to the handout the company provided at the event.
“The 5G autopilot vehicle is still a concept for us at the moment, but we’ve already developed every apparatus and device for launching 5G connection in a real car,” said Andy Zeng, a 5G technical engineer at Qualcomm.
The smart city is another vision whose realization will largely depend on the ubiquitous access to 5G networks in the future. US tech giant Intel is pouring investment into this area, constructing infrastructure with 5G digital access for future smart cities that it envisages to become a V2X system, meaning “way to everything,” the company’s marketing manager Paul Long said.
On the other side of the Atlantic, though, Europe has felt the clock ticking and is struggling to catch up.
According to a recent study by the London-based GSM Association, a trade body representing the interests of European mobile network operators, 5G connections in Europe will reach 214 million by 2025, accounting for 31 percent of total mobile connections. By that point, it said, around 75 percent of Europe’s population will be covered by 5G networks.
Gunnar Hoekmark, a Swedish member of the European Parliament, said it is time for Europe to act as if it is serious about being the global center for 5G development.
He said Europe, with what he called “a loosely written 5G road map,” is setting the stage for the US and Asia and handing them the trophy without even attempting to win it.
Meanwhile, in Russia, major telecommunications operators, such as MegaFon, MTS, Beeline and Tele2, are trying to keep up with the global trend of 5G development.
According to a governmentapproved digital economy program, 5G networks will cover eight cities in Russia by 2020.
When 5G services are popularized, experts say, they will bring a complete revolution to the way people live. Among others, 5G technology will rev up the application of “Internet of Things” thanks to its super-fast speed, which is likely to be 100 times faster than that of 4G connections.